A client asks for a proposal. You open your template, change the details and send over a dozen slides about your experience. A little company history, some logos, a description of your services and, finally, a price. Then you wait for a reply.
And nothing happens.
Why? You should have a good idea once you have read the tips below on writing a proposal that improves your chances of making a sale.
1. Start with the client's situation and the problem to solve
First, I need to show that I understand why we are having this conversation.
What is happening in the client's company?
What is making their work harder, and why do they want to address it now?
And a question for ourselves: am I suggesting this because it will help the client, or because it happens to be what I want to sell?
Understanding the client's needs and situation is critically important. The best-looking presentation will not help if you are proposing a solution to a problem the client does not have, or cannot address right now. Find out what they want to achieve, what they have already tried and what constraints they face. Only then decide on the scope of the work.
The foundation is good research, asking questions and listening carefully. Today, AI note-taking tools make this easier than ever, yet plenty of people still forget about it.
❌ “You need a new website” is a superficial description.
✅ “Your current website does not explain the difference between your packages. Your salespeople spend the first conversation explaining the basics, and some enquiries come from people who cannot afford your services.” Now that is specific.
If you only suspect what is causing a client's problem, say so. A note saying “To be checked during the analysis” is more honest than a confident diagnosis after a fifteen-minute conversation.
I explore this approach further in The three most important sales lessons from a four-time world champion.
2. Show why you are worth paying to solve it
The client should understand who they are trusting with their money, and why. This is where a common mistake happens: salespeople include everything about their company, when they should include ONLY information relevant to the business transaction the proposal concerns. Information that helps the client assess the risk of working together and your suitability for this particular task.
The story of your company, starting with its first computer, can usually wait. Rather than saying you are “a dynamic team of professionals”, explain what you will take responsibility for and what experience equips you to do it well. Choose a few facts you can back up.
3. Show where you have solved a similar problem
A well-known brand's logo can attract attention. On its own, however, it does not explain what you did for that company. The client still has to work out whether that experience is relevant to their situation.
That is why I would include a short account of a similar project: what the company was struggling with, what your role was and what you did. The similarity does not have to be the industry. An equipment manufacturer and a software company might have the same problem: their audience does not understand the value of a complex product.
Instead of including your entire portfolio, I would choose projects whose relevance to the client's task is easy to explain. One well-told story can say more than a dozen unrelated thumbnails. Include a short introduction in the proposal and a link to the details.
For example:
“The company was struggling to explain how its solution worked during the first conversation. We created a piece of content its salespeople could use before a meeting. Our scope covered interviews with experts, scriptwriting and production.” You can find out more in this portfolio entry.
4. Explain what changed after previous projects
Completing a project and solving a problem are two different stages. Your prospective client usually wants to buy an outcome, and your service or product is simply a way to get there.
If you have reliable data on the results of previous projects, show it with context. When reporting an increase in enquiries, specify the comparison period and mention whether the advertising budget changed at the same time. If several suppliers contributed, explain your part. “Sales increased by 40%” leaves plenty of room for convenient assumptions.
If you do not have sales data, you can show another confirmed outcome. Perhaps the client incorporated the content into employee onboarding or started using the presentation in sales meetings. State exactly what you know. Do not invent a conversion uplift just because it looks good on a slide.
5. Add client testimonials that explain something
“Highly recommended, great to work with” is nice, but says little about how a problem was solved. What matters are testimonials describing specific problems and how you dealt with them. Choose evidence that addresses the doubt you actually need to resolve.
If the client is worried about their team's time, a recommendation mentioning good organisation and little work on their side will help. If they are concerned about a difficult implementation, show a testimonial from someone you helped through it.
The quote should be genuine and used with permission. Include the person's name, role and company if you have permission to do so. Do not turn praise for meeting a deadline into a claim of sales success. The client said what they said.
6. Show the price alongside the scope of work
A number on its own leaves the reader guessing. They need to know what it includes, how the work will proceed and what you will need from their team.
Alongside the price, I would include the scope, schedule and payment terms. I would also explain the boundaries: extras that cost more and circumstances that would require a revised quote. Where relevant, clearly state the price excluding VAT and the VAT amount.
I would also explain the proposed solution here. Even after reading the diagnosis and examples of previous projects, the client may still not know what you intend to do for them. Connect the scope to the goal: why are you recommending these particular actions, and what will the client receive as a result?
Not every proposal needs several packages. If you offer options, explain the difference. What does the client pay extra for, and when is that worthwhile? Then recommend an option and explain why. Sending a table with dozens of choices can hand the client the very work they wanted to hire you to do.
7. Introduce the people the client will work with
After the contract is signed, someone will answer questions, follow up on agreements and run the project. It is worth showing who that will be in advance.
Instead of presenting the entire company structure, I would introduce the people who matter to this project. Who is responsible for the relationship? Who makes decisions about the work itself? Who should the client contact if a problem comes up? A short description of relevant expertise is more useful than a biography starting at university.
If the team will only be confirmed once a date is agreed, say so. A proposal should not promise the involvement of someone whose availability you have not checked.
8. Suggest a specific next step and explain the process
The client has read the proposal. What now? “Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions” lets you finish the document, but says very little.
Here, I always suggest an action suited to the stage of the conversation. If the scope needs discussion, invite the client to a short meeting and explain what you want to agree. If everything is settled, explain how to accept the proposal and what happens next with the contract.
For example: “I suggest a 20-minute meeting to discuss the proposal. We will confirm the scope and timing, and I will then prepare the contract.” That gives both sides a clear reason to talk. If you have already agreed a follow-up date, remind the client in the document or your message.
9. Make it easy to reach the right person
At the end, include the contact details of the person handling the conversation. Their full name and direct contact details should be easy to find even when the file is forwarded. A website address can help someone check the company, but should not be the only way to ask a question.
I would also check the document on a phone. Can you read the price? Tap the email address? Open a project example without requesting access? A proposal that is awkward to view creates work for the client before you have even started working together.
What else matters?
Your proposal will need to convince people you never meet
You often speak to one person while several others make the decision. Your contact will forward the proposal to a manager, a business partner or the person responsible for the budget. You may never speak to them. They will judge whether working with you makes sense based on the document they receive.
That is why a proposal should explain the recommendation from beginning to end. Someone who was not part of the sales process needs to understand the company's situation and the reasoning behind your solution. They should also know what the price covers and how the work will proceed. An agreement that matters to the decision cannot exist only in the memories of the people who attended the meeting.
A thorough proposal does not have to be long. It should contain everything needed to assess the recommendation, in plain language and a clear layout. Do not assume your contact will deliver a second presentation on your behalf and explain every abbreviation. Give them a document they can pass on without having to fill in the missing half.
Otherwise, your proposal may lose in a conversation you are not even part of. Someone will notice a higher price but miss the broader scope. Someone will decide the solution is too complicated because a simple explanation is missing. You will get a brief “We chose another supplier” and may never find out why.
Watch out for the curse of knowledge
When you know your service well, it is easy to forget how much someone needs to know to understand it. You skip explanations, use abbreviations and assume the reader will connect the dots. This is the curse of knowledge: you struggle to take the perspective of someone who does not have your experience.
You might write “script development” in a proposal because the scope of that work is obvious to you. The client may not know whether they need to provide a finished script or whether you will interview their experts and write it from scratch. Until you explain this, you could understand the same line in the quote very differently.
I share more examples and ways out of this trap in The curse of knowledge: when knowing too much stops you selling. It is worth a look if your materials make sense to your team but clients keep asking basic questions.
To sum up: think about the client to improve your chances of winning
This structure puts your arguments in order: from the client's situation, through evidence, to the terms of working together and the next step. You do not have to turn it into nine mandatory slides. A short proposal can fit on a few pages, and for a simple job some information can go in a message.
What matters more is whether the reader can find answers to their questions. When something is unclear, comparing prices is often the easiest option. If you want them to assess the value of working with you as well, you need to help them understand it.
Before sending a proposal, I would show it to someone who was not at the meeting. I would ask them to explain in their own words what problem we are solving, what we are proposing and why the client should trust us. If the answers are not in the document, the structure alone has not saved us.
A proposal is a good test of how well you have understood the client. If you struggle to write the first section, you may need another conversation before you start improving the presentation's design.
